Toy airplane



March 6, 1934. DARRQCH 1,950,164

TOY AIRPLANE Filed April 10, 1931 /34 29 INVENTOR 55 Patented Mar. 6, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE 8 Claims.

This invention relates to toy airplanes and particularly to that type which is projected into the air by a force produced by a means outside of and not carried by the plane.

Toy airplanes of this type are largely used for advertising purposes and in many instances are sent by mail in exchange for coupons taken from wrappers of advertised confections, etc., and in such cases it becomes highly important that a single plane may be mailed without boxing and with little or no packing to the end that the postage may be kept at a minimum, and it is therefore an object of the invention to so construct the airplane that it may be assembled and disassembled without tools and when disassembled will lie almost perfectly flat in a long business size envelope in which the parts sufficiently support each other to substantially dispense with any more packing than is provided in a printed instruction sheet or similar advertising matter.

Toy airplanes of this type must be made of very light material, yet the structure must be sufficiently strong to bear repeated shocks of landing, and often times of head-on collisions with stationary objects encountered when in full flight, and it is therefore another object of the invention to provide a structure in which these parts, so made from this extremely light material, are reinforced by metal members at the most necessary portions without adding unnecessary weight.

It is a further object of the invention to provide against the disastrous result of shock to certain parts of the structure by providing yieldable fastening means for securing the several main members of the structure together so that, should the wing or the elevator strike a stationary object while in full flight, it would be but momentarily displaced and not broken off.

It is another object of the invention to so shape, proportion and attach some of the metal reinforcing members that they not only reinforce the thin light material to which they are attached to prevent it from splitting or warping but serve as supporting members for other parts of the structure, to hold the several parts in proper relation each to the other.

It is another object of the invention to so 10- cate and attach one of the metal reinforcing members as to function as a balancing member as well as a reinforcing member.

It is another object of the invention to provide, at substantially no additional cost, a simple and effective means to cause the airplane to assume different forms of flight after leaving the projector such as level flight, large loop, small loo-p, barrel roll, etc.

That these and other objects and meritorious features are attained in the embodiment of the invention shown and described will become apparent from a consideration of the following description when taken in conjunction with the drawing, wherein- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the complete airplane.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the body of the airplane.

Fig. 3 is a top view of the main wing.

Fig. 4 is a top view of the elevator wing.

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of the metal nose band.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the metal wing support in the shape it assumes after it is attached to the plane body.

Fig. 7 is a perspective View of the metal wing support as it appears before being attached to the body.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of one of the rubber wing bands.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the assembled projector.

Similar numerals refer to similar throughout the several views.

The body 10, shown in detail in Fig. 2, is cut to the outline shown from a thin sheet of wood, of a kind which is as light as possible, consistent with the required strength. Basswood is one kind of wood suitable for this purpose. Square nose band notches 11 are cut near the nose 12, and immediately back of these notches a projector hook 13 is formed by cutting the projector not-ch 14. It will be noted that the lower edge of the body curves gradually away from the bottom of the projector notch 14 as at 16.

Small, half round wing support notches 17 and 18 are cut in the upper edge of the body 10 and. shallow wing band notches l9 and 21 are cut in the lower edge. The rudder portion 22 is cut to the outline of a balanced rudder, well known in airplane construction, in which there is a forwardly projecting balancing blade 23. The edge 24 upon which the elevator wing rests is on a line substantially parallel to the edge 26 upon which the main wing rests. Above the edge 24 and under the balancing blade 23 are a series of elevator notches 27, 28 and 29.

The main wing 31 shown in detail in Fig. 2 is cut to the outline shown from a thin sheet of wood, preferably balsawood. A wide centering notch 32 is cut in the forward edge. The elevator wing 33, shown in detail in Fig. 4, is similar to parts fill - manufacturer.

the main wing except that it is smaller. The centering notch 34 is also in the forward edge. It is important that no centering notches be cut in the rearward edges of the wings. The elevator wing 33 may preferably be made of basswood or other wood of equal strength.

The metal nose band 36 shown in perspective in Fig. 5 is made of a strip of sheet metal bent to the box like form shown. The ends of the strip have dovetail cuts 37 where they come together to lock them in place. The metal wing supports 38 shown in detail in Fig. 6 are made of a round wire, preferably about the size used in an ordinary paper clip, wherein two parallel suitably spaced apart vertical portions 39 form the sides of the rectangle 41, small portions of the length as at 42 lapping over each other the free ends extending laterally as at 43 to form a T shaped top upon which the wings may rest. Sharp offsets in the wire at 44 serve to lock the wire in its rectangular form 41 after it has once been brought to that shape. The wing supports however are not brought to the contour shown in Fig. 6 by the manufacturer but are left open as shown in Fig. '7 so that they may be afterward slipped around the body 10 and pressed into place by the user after he receives the disassembled plane. Two of these supports are required, the elevator wing support being somewhat smaller than the main wing support inasmuch as the body 10 is narrower at the elevator wing support notch 18 than at the main wing support notch 17.

The wing bands 46, Fig. 8, are stock rubber bands such as are used in office work and sold in stationery stores. Two of these bands are required, one for each wing. The projector 47 shown assembled in Fig. 9 comprises a longer rubber band 48 drawn tightly into a notch 49 in the end of a round wooden handle 51.

The nose band 36 is placed on the body 10 in the notches l1 and is preferably struck in a press to set the metal band tightly to the wood body. The assembly of the nose band 36 with the body 10 is the only assembly to be carried out by the The wing supports 38 are of course not assembled with the body until after the airplane is received by the user inasmuch as such an assembly would prevent a flat package being made of the parts and greatly increase the difliculty, cost and danger of damage in mailing.

When the user receives the package containing the se eral parts he first ta res the wing supports 38, which he receives in the form shown in Fig. '7 and slips them into place over the body 16 and presses them together into the notches 17 and 18,

the portions a2 lapping and resting side by side in a notch and the ofisets 44 being hooked around the parallel vertical wires 39 to hold them in place with the ends 43 extending laterally out from the body 10 as shown in Fig. 1.

The main wing 31 is now laid in place over the ends 43 of the wing support and a wing band 46 is placed around the body 10 preferably back of the wing and with one end hooked in the wing band notch 19, parallel sides of the bands are drawn over the top of the wing through the centering notch 32, then the end is passed over the nose 12 of the plane and hooked in the same notch 19 in the bottom of the body in the manner shown in Fig. l. The elevator wing is secured to the body in exactly the same manner except that only one end of the wing band 46 is hooked into the notch 21 the other end passing almost vertically around the sides of the body as at 52. It will be noticed that the rear wing support is located very close to the forward edge of the elevator wing. This is so that the rear edge of the elevator wing may be raised and supported in any of the notches 27, 28 and 29 without raising the wing eff of the support. The airplane is now ready for flight.

When the projector 47 has been assembled as shown in Fig. 9 by drawing the rubber band 48 through the notch 49 in the handle 51, the end 53 of the band is placed over the projector hook 13 of the body 10, the handle 51 held in one hand and the rudder 22 grasped between the thumb and forefinger of the other hand. The rubber band is then strtched out and after proper aim is taken the rudder is released and the airplane takes flight.

In the assembly shown in Fig. 1 the elevator wing 33 is held by the wing band 46 tightly against the edge 24 of the body 10, and in this position the main wing and the elevator wing are in substantially parallel planes, and so long as the two wings maintain this relative position, level flight only may be had. When however the rearward edge of the elevator wing is raised and set into one of the notches 27, 28 or 29 the two wings are no longer in parallel planes and curved paths are followed in the course of the flight. The kind of curved flight to be had by adjusting the elevator wing into the several notches is preferably printed on the rudder as shown with arrows from the printed words pointing to the notches with which they correspond.

From the foregoing description when read with the drawing it will be seen that the objects set forth are attained in the embodiment shown. The airplane may be completely disassembled except that the nose band 36 is preferably not removed from the body 10 inasmuch as it adds no great amount of thickness or unevenness to the body, and when so disassembled all parts, including the wire wing supports 38 will lie perfectly fiat. The several parts may be held more compact in mailing by encircling them with the rubber wing bands 46.

The importance of making a perfectly fiat package for mailing cannot be overestimated for if there was a single projection permanently fastened to either wing or to the body 10 before it was mailed, and such a projection came on the bottom of the package in the mail, any considerable weight placed on the package, not directly over the projection, would split or break the upsupported part of the body which was away from the projection, while on the other hand in a package in which all parts lie perfectly flat it is almost impossible to place sufficient weight upon it to break any of the parts.

It will be seen that the metal nose band 36 and the two metal wing supports 32- lie closely up to the sides of the body 10 at three spaced apart positions in its length, so that the body will neither split nor warp in normal use. The metal nose band 36 is located near enough to the nose 12 that a short length only of wood projects forwardly from the band. This short length of wood acts as a buffer in a head-on collision with a stationary object, and such collisions may be had repeatedly with no damage except to the appearance of the airplane. With a body 10 made of basswood the nose 12 batters down almost to the band 36 but does not split or break the body. This is an important feature of the invention.

It will be noted also that the hook 13 is immediately adjacent the nose band 36. Placing the notch 14 thus near the nose band 36 prevents the hook 13 being split off of the body 10. The curve 16 on the lower edge of the body 10 permits the end 53 of the rubber band 48 to clear the body when the plane starts in flight.

Since the total weight of an airplane is preferably divided, half forward and half rearward of a line near the front edge of the main wing the thickness of the metal in the nose band 36 may be determinedwith reference to the amount of weight there needed to bring about this true balance. The band being on the front of the plane tends to keep it moving front end first as in any weighted projectile.

The centering notches 32 and 34 in the main and elevator wings 31 and 33 respectively are placed in the forward edges only of the wings. These notches furnish adequate means for centering the wings on the body. If however the end of one of the wings strikes an object while in flight the wing is merely displaced on the body 10 and not broken, inasmuch as the rubber wing band 46 not being in a notch in the rearward edge of the wing will shift laterally from its position along the rearward edge of the wing and permit it to be momentarily displaced upon receiving the shock.

The elevator notches 27, 28 and 9 taken together with the means provided to indicate their respective functions provide a convenient method of predetermining the kind of fl ght which may be made in the space available, so that unnecessary collisions may be avoided.

Having herein described an embodiment of my invention in which the objects set forth are attained,

I claim,

1. In a toy airplane, a Wood body having the grain of the wood lengthwise, a combined body brace and wing support comprising a single piece of metal completely surrounding said body transversely of the grain, the ends of said piece being lapped over each other and extended laterally of said body, and a wing having its flat sides resting on and supported by said laterally extending ends.

2. In a toy airplane, a body of thin fiat wood having its width vertical the grain of said wood being lengthwise of said body, a combined body brace and wing support comprising a single piece of metal drawn tightly completely around said body transversely of the grain, the free ends of said piece then overlapping and extending laterally in opposite directions from said body, said piece having integral locking means to hold said piece locked tightly around said body, and a wing having its flat sides resting on and supported by said laterally extending ends.

3. In a toy airplane, a body of thin flat wood having its width vertical the grain of said wood being lengthwise of said body, a combined body brace and wing support comprising a single piece of wire bent to a rectangular form to fit around the body tightly transversely of the grain, the free ends of said wire then overlapping each other at the top of said body and extending laterally from the said body in opposite directions, there being sharp offsets in the laterally extending ends at the end of the overlapping portions to lock said wire tightly around said body, and a wing extending crosswise over the upper edge of said body resting on said laterally extending ends.

4. In a toy airplane, a body, a rudder extending vertically at the rear end of said body, said rudder having a series of elevator wing notches in its forward vertical edge and indicating means on said rudder opposite each notch, an elevator wing resting on the upper edge of said body, said wing having its rearward edge resting in one of said notches, a wing support extending laterally in opposite directions from said body at the upper edge of said body and near the forward edge of said wing, and a single resilient band positioned and tensioned to draw said wing both downwardly against said body and said wing support and rearwardly into said notch.

5. A toy airplane comprising, in combination, a body, a main wing, an elevator wing, all of sheet wood and all of substantially uniform thickness throughout without projections extending from their flat sides, and two detachable combined wing and body supports extending closely and completely around said body and laterally in opposite directions at the edge of said body and against the flat sides of said wings, both said wings being detachably held to said body by resilient rubber bands only, and both said combined wing and body supports having snap-on means whereby they may be attached and detached at will.

6. In a toy airplane of the character described, a wood body having the grain of the wood lengthwise, and a reinforcing member at the front end of said body, comprising a continuous metal band tightly surrounding the body transversely of the grain slightly back from the front end, leaving a short length of wood extending through and forwardly beyond the said band.

7. In a toy airplane of the character described, a wood body having the grain of the wood lengthwise, a tightly fitted metal band at one end completely surrounding the body transversely of the grain, a short length of the wood of said body extending slightly through and forwardly of said band, and an integral projector hook formed in one edge of said body immediately adjacent the rearward edge of said band.

8. In a toy airplane of the character described, a wood body having the grain of the wood lengthwise and a continuous metal band tightly surrounding the body transversely of the grain slightly back from the front end leaving a short length of wood extending through and forwardly beyond the said band, said band being of such weight as to balance the weight of the plane at 1 the forward edge of the main Wing, said band thereby serving the twofold purpose of a reinforcing member and a balance weight.

GOURLEY DARROCH.

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